We had a series of meetings with economists, political analysts and even a real estate company in London on September 26-27, with the aim of obtaining deeper insight into the British economy after the Brexit vote and how the process of leaving the EU is unfolding. We left with a number of interesting impressions, although we note there were different views among those we met about how the Brexit process will unfold, and whether or not the outcome will be a 'hard' or 'soft' Brexit.

Our key impressions:• The likelihood of the UK government backing away from the Brexit process is very low, as is the likelihood of a new Brexit referendum. • The Autumn Statement might include some further government spending, but it is not likely that it will be very generous, given that government finances already are stretched.• The process within the British government to devise a proposal that deals with basic issues (immigration and trade) before invoking Article 50 will take time, meaning that the UK probably will not start negotiations early next year.• The Brexit negotiations will be extremely complicated and difficult to resolve given the number of governments that must provide approval; some even deemed it impossible under the current rules.• There appears to be some rather cautious optimism in the property market, but it remains unclear what will happen with foreign investments.

The outcome of the UK's EU referendum came as a surprise to most. While the immediate impact on markets was dramatic, prices have largely since recovered. The effects on the real economy are expected to be significant but generally limited to the UK. The new government seems determined to follow through on the referendum decision, leaving the world preparing for the UK's exit from the world's largest free-trade zone. Prime Minister Theresa May said that she wants to formally begin the exit process in January next year. Negotiations could last for up to two years, which is a long time given current events in the EU and UK.